Patrick Mahomes Mentions Lamar Jackson When Asked If He's the Face of the NFL

In Patrick Mahomes' short NFL career, he's already won a league MVP, threw for 50 touchdown passes in a season (2018) and won both a title and the game's MVP award after leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday night. 

But when asked if he's now the face of the NFL, Mahomes said a number of players are worthy of that distinction, including Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson:

Mahomes isn't wrong. Jackson was incredible in 2019, throwing for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 66.1 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 1,206 yards—an NFL record for a quarterback—and seven touchdowns.

He was the first player in NFL history to both pass for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 in a single season, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.

He led the Baltimore Ravens to a 14-2 record and the top seed in the AFC, though his accomplishments were marred somewhat by a shocking upset loss to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round.

Nonetheless, Jackson became just the second player in NFL history to win a unanimous MVP award, joining New England Patriots legend Tom Brady (2010).

And Jackson can take some solace in the fact that Mahomes won a Super Bowl just one season removed from his own MVP award, after a season for the ages in 2018 in which he threw for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 66 percent of his passes. 

Like Jackson, Mahomes was in just his second season. And like Jackson, Mahomes was unable to follow up his MVP award with a title that season. 

But at a time when one of the truly great generations of quarterbacks is nearing its end—players like Tom Brady (42), Drew Brees (41), Ben Roethlisberger (37), Philip Rivers (38) and even Aaron Rodgers (36) are in the twilights of their careers, while Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck retired in recent years—the next generation appears to be in very good hands with players like Mahomes and Jackson.

Both appear to be excellent ambassadors for the NFL going forward.